Disclosure Ref: 4

CPS Finance and IT information

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST

Request

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from Finance (Accounts Receivable/Payable) and IT (Information Technology):

01. Who provides the organisations BACS payments and Direct Debit collection software?
02. Please provide a list of your suppliers of the above software.
03. How you came to the decision to choose these companies?
04. Are these solution(s) hosted on premise or cloud hosted?
05. Please provide expenditure on computer software used for Bacs payment processing and Direct Debit collection. For financial years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.
06. When does your current contract(s) with BACs payment and direct debit collection software expire?
07. Will this service(s) be tendered and if so where?
08. What is the total value of your current BACS payment and Direct Debit collection software contract(s) and over what period?
09. With whom does the organisation hold its primary bank account?
10. Does the organisation, acting as a Bureau, provide Bacs processing on behalf on any other organisation?
11. What payments types does the organisation use? (e.g Bacs (Direct Credit), Direct Debit, Faster Payments, etc.).
12. Who is the person responsible for BACS processing and Direct Debit collection software? o Name o Position o Telephone Number o Email Please provide the information below each question, signifying your response(s) by a change of font or highlighted text, spaced between other questions.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under your Section 16 obligations, as to how I can refine my request to be included in the scope of the Act.

In any case, if you can identify ways that my request could be refined please provide further advice and assistance to indicate this. I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as stipulated by the Act.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be happy to clarify what I am asking for, my details are outlined below.

Our Response

In response to questions 1-3 above the Crown Prosecution Service receives outsourced Finance Services from CGI IT UK Limited through a call-off contract on the Crown Commercial Service’s Payroll Human Resources (HR) and Finance Services framework agreement (RM887): this includes the provision of a BACS service including software. The CPS does not collect direct debits.

In response to question 4, the information you have requested is exempt under s.43 (1) ‘commercial interest’ as this information constitutes a trade secret. The public interest test has been considered. To disclose this information would demonstrate transparency about how the CPS spends public money and may increase public confidence in the CPS. The CPS considers the services provided by the supplier as a key business process, and therefore regards this information as a trade secret. Under the terms of the contract the business process is deemed to be commercially sensitive information and therefore not disclosable. As the information requested is considered to be protected sensitive information, I consider the public interest favours maintaining the exemption.

In response to questions 5, 7 and 8 above, the Crown Prosecution Service does not hold this information.

In response to question 6 the Call-off contract was signed in July 2015 for a period of up to seven years.

9. With whom does the organisation hold its primary bank account?

Royal Bank of Scotland Group - via Government Banking Services 10. Does the organisation, acting as a Bureau, provide Bacs processing on behalf on any other organisation? No

11. What payments types does the organisation use? (e.g Bacs (Direct Credit), Direct Debit, Faster Payments, etc.). BACS, Faster Payments, Payable Orders, International Transfers and Drafts

12. Who is the person responsible for BACS processing and Direct Debit collection software?

The information you have requested is exempt under section 40 ‘personal information’ Please refer to the attached refusal notice which explains my decision.

Our procurement team email contact is: procurement@cps.gsi.gov.uk

Information Management Unit 020 3357 0899 FOI.Unit@cps.gsi.gov.uk